Chennai: World Chess Championship match between reigning champion Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and challenger world number one Magnus Carlsen in November would be one of the best in the entire history of the event, FIDE Vice-President Israel Gelfer said on Friday.
Addressing the media after the final inspection of the venue for the prestigious tie here, Gelfer said he was fully satisfied with the arrangements made so far and expected that the event will be a spectacular one. He said he had been involved in organising almost a dozen World Championship matches and he was sure that this tie would be one of the best organised, if not the best.
Gelfer recalled FIDE's association with Hyatt group of hotels as early as 2000 during the World Championship match held in New Delhi.
"As millions of fans from all over the world will be watching the match live from various parts of the world through internet, we have ensured that the internet connections were of high quality to ensure that the server does not crash during the event," he said.
The FIDE vice-president said that Aruna Anand, manager and wife of Anand, was also present during the inspection and was very much satisfied with the arrangements made by the organisers.
Earlier, Carlsen, who was on a visit for inspection last week, had also confirmed that he and his team were extremely happy with the venue and other arrangements.
FIDE Vice-President D V Sundar explained that the organisers have made arrangements for 350 spectators to witness the match. He said that a glass partition would be erected to separate the players and the spectators in order to ensure that the spectators do not disturb the players.
All India Chess Federation CEO Bharat Singh said that live video streaming of the match as well as live commentary on the internet will be made available. AICF Secretary V Hariharan briefed the media about the various other activities to be organised during the match.
Hariharan said that there would be a Women Grandmasters' event, an Open International Grandmasters' tournament, National Under-9 Chess Championship as well as a host of other events during November.
He said that all these events shall be flagged off with a 'Beach Blitz', wherein a Blitz event (5 minutes per player) will be organised at the Beach under the shelter of colourful umbrellas to create a general awareness to the public about the match.
Hyatt Regency General Manager Sunjae Sharma said that Carlsen loved Indian delicacies during his stay at the Hyatt. He said that Hyatt Regency has a Norwegian chef and that Carlsen and his team members were very comfortable with the food served at the Hotel.
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